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Construction Site

Q. Should you refuse employment to a turban-wearing Sikh who refuses to wear a safety helmet on a construction site?

Where employees, or potential employees have particular cultural and religious needs which conflict with existing work requirements, it is recommended that employers should consider whether it is reasonably practical to vary or adapt these requirements to enable these needs to be met. For example, it is recommended that they should not refuse employment to a turbaned Sikh because he could not comply with unjustifiable uniform requirements.

S11 of the Employment Act 1989 exemptsturban-wearing Sikhs from any requirements to wear safety helmets on a construction site. Where a turban-wearing Sikh is injured on a construction site liability for injuries is restricted to the injuries that would have been sustained if the Sikh had been wearing a safety helmet.

Riding Motor Cycles

Sikhs who wear Turbans need not wear crash helmets when they ride Motor Cycles or Scooters. They have been allowed to wear Turban as their only headgear. In accordance with the Motor-Cycle Crash Helmets (Religious Exemption) Act 1976 passed by the British Parliament in 1976, Section 2A "exempts any follower of the Sikh religion while he is wearing a turban" from having to wear a crash helmet.

Education and Workplace

Nobody in the UK should be discriminated against or harassed because of their race, colour, nationality or ethnic origin. The Race Relations Act protects everyone from being treated less favourably than others because of their race, colour, nationality or ethnic origin. If anybody does discriminate against anyone on account of any of the above reasons, they can complain to an employment tribunal or a county court (in Scotland, this would be a sheriff’s court).